Keep self-serving politics out of crime prevention

Sandy Hook shocked and horrified our entire nation. Yet the loss of any child under any circumstance is no less tragic.

Each year 2,100 children under age 14 are killed in traffic accidents, 16 percent by drunk drivers. Additionally, 1,500 children under age 4 are killed in non-firearm related incidents through parental abuse and neglect. Fifteen percent of sexual assault crimes are committed against children under age 6. One hundred are abducted by non-family members each year. Thousands are abused daily by pedophiles on the Internet. Myriad assaults on our children are inherent in this society and must be approached as cultural, moral and mental health issues.

Again there’s a rush to ban assault weapons, which were not used at Columbine or Virginia Tech, where fatalities were the highest. The Columbine tragedy occurred during the assault weapons ban. Statistically, the school classroom remains the safest place for our children. Still, all school doors should become as impenetrable as airline cockpits and first-floor windows protected by bars if necessary. Gun owners should share culpability in a crime committed by their unsecured weapon.

Grandstanding politicians would violate Second Amendment rights of millions of law-abiding citizens while the pedophilia and childhood sexuality alliances claim First Amendment protection. Will this administration effectively ban weapons of gangs and drug dealers to prevent child collateral damage from drive-by shootings? Child crime prevention must be addressed earnestly, where it will benefit our children most and keep self-serving politics out of it.